1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a luggage piece having a sector-like expandable section comprising a body, a cover, a first zipper, an expandable section, and a second zipper. The body has a bottom and a top, wherein a longitudinal depth of the bottom is larger than that of the top. The cover has a fiber cloth frame and a cover having the first zipper. The expandable section is seamed between the body and cover. The second zipper is installed between the body and the cover. By the action of the second zipper, the expandable section is expanded outwards and closed inwards like a sector so as to increase the receiving volume of an object. Thereby, a larger distance is formed by the corner wheel and the leg at the bottom of the luggage piece so as to achieve preferred stability. Thus, the weight of an object is supported by the bottom without any further supporting structure. Moreover, the legs of the luggage piece are moved outwards as much as possible so as to have a large distance between the corner wheels, thereby, achieving greater stability.
2. Description of Related Art
Referring to FIG. 9, a prior art luggage piece is illustrated. The expandable section 2 of a prior art luggage piece 1 is formed by a fiber cloth frame having an equal width along the length of the frame. The zipper 3 of the expandable section 2 winds around the whole outer frame 4 of the luggage piece 1. When the expandable section 2 is used, the expandable section 2 is expanded outwards so as to increase the receiving space of the expandable section 2. However, in this prior art design, the longitudinal depth of the luggage piece is shallow. The distance between the legs 5 and the corner wheels 6 is smaller. Therefore, the luggage piece 1 is not stable when used.
Moreover, when the expandable section is not used, the line of the gravitational center of the luggage piece 1 is approximately located in the center position of the legs 5 and the corner wheels 6. However, once the luggage piece 1 expands outwards, the increased weight moves the line of the gravitational center of the luggage piece 1 to a place near the legs 5 so that the stability of the object is very poor. Thus, only a small force will induce the luggage piece to fall down. Moreover, in general, the expandable section 2 has no strong support. A further supporter 7 must be installed at a bottom of the luggage piece in order to support the weight of an object in the expandable section. Otherwise, an object placed in the expandable section may be destroyed.
Furthermore, since the zipper 3 winds around the outer frame 4 of the luggage piece, the zipper 3 must be opened around the whole outer frame of the luggage piece 1, if the expandable section 2 is to be used. The expandable section 3 can then expand outwards. Therefore, a rotation of the luggage piece of approximately 360 degrees is necessary, which is inconvenient. If the user desires to close the expandable section, it is possible that the zipper is released so that the user must take some time to search for the puller of the zipper, which is also inconvenient.
Accordingly, the primary object of the present invention is to provide a luggage piece having a sector-like expandable section, wherein a expandable section is seamed between a body and a cover for adjusting the receiving space of a luggage piece. Furthermore, the body has a bottom and a top, and a longitudinal depth of the bottom is larger than that of the top. Moreover, the legs of the luggage piece are moved outwards as much as possible so as to have a large distance between the corner wheels, thereby, achieving greater stability.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a luggage piece having a sector-like expandable section, wherein the weight of an object is supported by the bottom without further supporting structure, the structure being very simple and steady. By the action of the second zipper, the expandable section is expanded outwards and closed inwards like a sector so as to increase the receiving volume of an object.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a luggage piece having a sector-like expandable section, wherein when the expandable section 40 expands outwards so as to increase the receiving volume of an object, the line of the gravitational center of the luggage piece passing through the center of the corner wheels 15 and legs 16, so as not to reduce the stability of the luggage piece, further reducing the possibility that the luggage piece may fall down.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide a luggage piece having a sector-like expandable section, wherein the second zipper is installed between the body and the cover with a configuration like an inverse U shape instead of winding around the whole luggage piece, thereby making it easier to operate.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide a luggage piece having a sector-like expandable section, wherein a central position of the second zipper is installed with a stopper. As the second zipper is closed, the puller of zipper is exactly positioned on the center of the top of the luggage piece.
To achieve the previous objects, the present invention provides a luggage piece comprising:
a body 10 having a bottom side 13 and a top side 14 as defined when the luggage piece is placed in a substantially upright position, wherein the bottom side 13 has a bottom depth DB and the top side as a top depth DT smaller than the bottom depth;
a front portion 66 and an opposing rear portion 68 defining a luggage volume;
a pair of front supports 16 disposed on the bottom side near the front portion;
a pair of rear supports 15 disposed on the bottom side near the rear portion and separated from the front supports 16 by a base depth DW, wherein the base depth is approximately equal to the bottom depth for providing stability to the luggage piece in the upright position;
a cover 20 disposed on the front portion; and
an expandable section 40 disposed on the front portion between the cover and the body, wherein the expandable section can be expanded outward from the front portion so as to increase the luggage volume by changing the top depth while keeping the bottom depth substantially unchanged.
According to the present invention, the luggage piece further comprising a handle 17 disposed on the rear portion, wherein the rear supports 15 are wheels for allowing a user to move the luggage piece while pulling the luggage piece by the handle 17.
According to the present invention, the expandable section 40, which is seamed with the body 10 near the front portion 66, is an extended part of the body 10.
According to the present invention, a zipper 50 is provided between the cover 20 and the body 10 near the front portion 66 and the zipper 50 can be closed to conceal the expandable section 40 or opened to allow the expandable section 40 to expand outward.
According to the present invention, a zipper 30 is provided between the cover 20 and the body 10 near the front portion 66 and the zipper 30 can be closed to close the cover 20 on the body 10 and the zipper 30 can be opened to open the cover 20 from the body 10.
According to the present invention, the cover 20 comprises one or more storage compartments or bags 23.
The various objects and advantages of the present invention will be more readily understood from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with FIGS. 1 through 9.